No, not me! While the blue bloods in New Orleans were busy pretending to be royalty during Carnival season, the Super Blue Blood Moon was appearing in Tucson’s desert sky.

As excited as I was on January 31st, somehow I slept through the vivid blood red sight of the eclipse in the morning. In my defense, rock hunting during the Tucson gems shows is intense. I did get a chance to see it rise again in the evening and then I got to howl at it for awhile.

Of course being in Tucson for the gem shows is a magical experience in it’s own right, and this year didn’t disappoint.

Here are some of the jaw dropping rocks and minerals I got to touch:

Tourmaline Slices

Rutilated Quartz With Hematite Inclusions

Geodes On Display

They even have groovy carved agate and quartz sinks and bathtubs for sale:

Agate Sinks

Every year I try to get to a show I haven’t gone to before (with 50 shows around town, that’s easy to do). This year I went to a show that consisted of old hippies selling hippie accoutrements, like these fabulous lamps from Istanbul:

Mosaic Lamps From Istanbul

If you want to check out some of my favorite finds that are now part of my h̶o̶a̶r̶d̶ collection, you can see them in my instagram posts (check the shots between cactus photos) here: https://www.instagram.com/ledajewelco/

I made it back to the Big Easy just in time for all the Mardi Gras hoopla. Hope everyone has a wonderful Fat Tuesday.

October rocks for a lot of reasons. First, my favorite rocks are October’s birthstone: opals and tourmalines. Second, it starts getting cool here in the steamy south, and third, there’s always a mysterious black magical theme going on. There’s more: like we celebrate our anniversary in October, and well, let me shut up and get to the bijoux!

Let’s start with this drop dead gorgeous Australian boulder opal and Oregon sunstone. Sometimes things just make themselves. One morning a loose sunstone dropped right down on the opal I was working on, and that was it.

Togetherness.

Australian Boulder Opal & Oregon Sunstone Pendant

Stack ‘o black and orange: representing the end of light and the beginning of darkness. Raw black tourmaline crystal and Oregon sunstone stacking rings.

Raw Black Tourmaline & Oregon Sunstone Stacking Rings

Tumbled Black Tourmaline & Aquamarine Necklace

This necklace is perfect for when you’re feeling black and blue. Black tourmaline (aka shorl) is grounding, protective (especially against negative energy), along with an offset aquamarine for peace and courage.

Rose Cut Oregon Sunstone Earrings With Black Spinel Drops

OK. So these earrings consist of Oregon sunstones and black spinels (which are NOT October rocks) but they are probably my favorite of this batch. They work with the black and orange thing going on.

Clicking on a photo brings you to the shop to purchase, and for more info.

One of the unusual pieces I bought in Tucson this year, was a beautiful piece of heart shaped chrysocolla; from the Inspiration mine in Arizona (often referred to as “gem silica”). It reminded me of the sea, I paired it with a giant freshwater pearl, and tropical blue apatite.

Tucson Arizona at the end of January, and beginning of February: Motel rooms become gem shops. Tents spring up all over town overflowing with rocks and minerals. Convention centers bring the world to town with cases and cases of gemstones, fossilized shark teeth and glittery druzy. I am in my element.

This is what I wake up to every morning:

Sunrise in Tucson AZ

Then I hit the ground running and start the quest. Here are some of the highlights I managed to snag:

Trapiche Sapphires

Trapiche, taken from the Spanish word meaning “a spoked wheel” used to grind sugar cane. These sapphires resemble the pattern. Found in Myanmar (formerly Burma). Very rare, collectors’ items.

I can never have enough opals in my stash. These are so beautiful, they made me weep.

Indicolite (aka Blue Tourmaline) crystal slices.

Rare (there’s that word again!) blue tourmaline crystal slices. Sigh.

Some people have no sense of humor. I was so taken by some of the displays, I broke out into song; specifically the chorus of Itchycoo Park by the Small Faces (“it’s all too beautiful, it’s all too beautiful”), no one joined in. They actually moved away. At least Ihad fun.

It’s a NEW Year! For most people it means resolutions, for moi it means gearing up for the MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR (code for Tucson gem shows). It’s always exciting to add more rocks to my cache (some people call it hoarding, I call it “collecting”).

I selected some rocks I’m willing to part with, and made a few things for the wrist (again).

Hope everyone enjoys the MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR as much as I do; no matter where you are. If the Goddesses are willing, I’ll do a post or two from Tucson! Or at least a postcard that says “Wish you were here”.

Never mind that 10 year Katrina/flood anniversary thingy. We had our OWN 10 year celebration recently: the Ball&Chain and I married shortly after the flood. For OUR 10 year commemoration, we decided to leave the Big Easy, and frolic in my mother country. One of the most beautiful places on the planet is Canada’s west coast, and I am particularly smitten with the western edge of Vancouver Island. It is wild, pristine and breathtaking.

Western Shore of Vancouver Island

Beach With Driftwood & The Ball&Chain

The area is also a rain forest. Here’s the stairway to heaven in one of the old growth forests!

Stairway To Heaven

Just before our trip, the Ball&Chain picked up a copy of National Geographic at the news stand, in it was a very interesting article about a creature I’d never heard of: the sea wolf. Sea wolves only live on Canada’s west coast islands and Alaska. These wolves swim! They eat seafood and barnacles! And guess what? On our bear watching tour, we not only got to see a mama bear with her two cubs, but we also got to see not one, but TWO elusive sea wolves! Even the tour guide was shocked and started snapping photos. Here’s one of my lame shots of the pair: